Resources for Faculty

Ask Kate - SUNY Q&A on Academic Programs

The following are items from “Ask Kate,” a Q&A with SUNY Assistant Provost Kate Van
Arnam. These items were published between 2003 and 2005, and are archived at the following
web site: http://www.suny.edu/provost/AskKate/.

To download a printable PDF version of this page, please click here. (.pdf, 16kb)

Q: When do we have to get a proposal to you if we want to admit students this September?
(Please don't say we're already too late.)

KVA: Proposals for the revision of an existing program should allow a minimum 30 days
for our review and at least the same for the registration review by the State Education
Department. For proposals for a new program please allow a minimum 60 days for the
University's review and the same for SED's.

Please note that the 30-day and 60-day time periods are not guarantees for approval.
They are targets within which we seek to complete initial review of a proposal. The
result of this initial review may either be approval or a request for additional necessary
documentation. These targets assume uncomplicated proposals (no master plan amendment
or degree authorization is required) and compelling and complete documentation.

In workshops I advise campuses to file program proposals a semester in advance of
when they want to advertise the availability of the offering. You are welcome to submit
a proposal now for a September 2004 start but we cannot guarantee its registration
and you will have no time to market the program.

Recently we have experienced an SED-imposed deadline of May 7, 2004 for the revision
of school leadership programs. Ideally we should have had the campus proposals in
perfect form by April 7 to assure smooth processing and meeting the SED schedule without
unnecessary disruption in our office. In the future, should SED issue other discipline-specific
proposal deadlines, we will advise campuses sufficiently in advance of our corresponding
deadline.

Q: We want to add a concentration to a Ph.D. program. Do we have to get approval from
Albany?

KVA: Yes. Commissioner's Regulation §52.1(h) applies to all levels of instruction: "New
registration shall be required for any existing curriculum in which major changes
are made that affect its title, focus, design, requirements for completion, or mode
of delivery."

If you want to advertise or admit students to a concentration, we need to seek its
registration. For the revision of a doctoral program, follow Appendix E, Guideline
for Revision of Existing Academic Program, in the 2003 Handbook.

Please be sure that the concentration represents a focused field or specialization
within the parent Ph.D. program rather than a new field or major option that would
be better represented as a new Ph.D.

Q: We did look to see if we could find guidance in materials from your office, but
didn't find any. Are we supposed to notify the Provost's office of the addition of
minors? I know they don't require SED approval, but we need to know if your office
wishes to be notified about them and/or must approve them. (The minor precipitating
this inquiry is an interdisciplinary minor in classical studies that could be combined
with any one of several majors on campus.)

KVA: I am happy to report that minors are a local campus matter. We do not receive, review
or approve the introduction or the dissolution of minors, nor does the State Education
Department.

Our experience has been that a minor is optional and is based on student interest
and faculty expertise. It is an approved (by the campus) course sequence within an
area of study providing a degree of specialization within that area, a specialty within
a discipline, or a specialty integrating several disciplines. Minors are often recorded
on transcripts, consist of 3 to 6 courses with a balance of introductory and advanced
course work, most of which is in addition to the major. Minors are not advised in
areas leading to New York State licensure or certification, such as engineering,
nursing, medicine, and special education.

In our everyday program review work we see successful minors used convincingly as
evidence of sustained demand, thus providing the basis for the necessary market documentation for a new major in the (former) minor discipline, in this case Classical
Studies.

Q: I'm putting together a 'flow chart' for the program approval process to help our
faculty. Once SUNY approves the program, it then forwards it to SED for registration.
Is this step 'pro forma' or might there be a request for revisions by SED that sends
the proposal back to the department? When can the department advertise the program,
after SUNY or SED approval?

KVA: SED does often ask questions on compliance with the Rules of the Board of Regents and Regulations of the Commissioner of Education. These questions back to campus - with a copy to System Administration - tend toward
technical matters such as program format, financial aid, and licensure issues. The
campus responds directly to SED, with a copy to us. Keep in mind that our review involves
State University policies and priorities and SED's review emphasizes regulatory compliance.
Part 52.1(g) of the Regulations are clear on advertising: "Each curriculum for which registration is required shall
be registered before the institution may publicize its availability or recruit or
enroll students in the curriculum."

Attached for your information is a flow chart of the process that we use in program proposal workshops.